The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the tire pressure according to the preamble of the main claim. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for measuring the tire pressure, in particular to a method for operating the apparatus, and to the use of such an apparatus.
From the prior art it is known to measure the tire pressure of vehicle when a vehicle is stationary. This is typically done in that an operator connects a (suitably calibrated) air pressure measuring apparatus to the tire valve of the tire which is to be correspondingly checked, reads off the tire pressure from a manometer scale and can then make air pressure corrections within a limited scope by, if appropriate, an additional functionality of the typically portable apparatus. However, such a procedure is awkward, requires a vehicle to be stationary and is impracticable, in particular in conjunction with the measuring of a plurality of tires and/or multiple vehicles, such as is the case in conjunction with regular checking of commercial vehicle fleets (referred to as fleet checks). This then leads to a situation in which the measurement of the tire pressure takes place only at comparatively long intervals, which in turn results in a comparatively large number of vehicle tires being driven with an incorrect air pressure, typically an underpressure. The consequences which are disadvantageous individually and in overall economic terms are increased consumption of fuel, increased tire wear and disadvantageous effects on the road handling of the vehicle.
For this reason, selective tests have been performed in order to measure the tire pressure when the vehicle is moving. This typically means that a manometer connection or hose connection to the tire valve cannot be formed. Instead, tire pressure sensors are provided for continuously monitoring the tire pressure in the interior of the rim, typically attached there to a tire valve, and said tire pressure sensors have wireless means, typically implemented with a high frequency, for transmitting tire pressure data to the outside. However, this procedure is costly, potentially susceptible to faults and, in particular when there are frequent tire changes, gives rise to the risk of damage to the expensive electronics, with the result, particularly in the field of commercial vehicles or trucks, such tire pressure sensors have not become established practice in a tire.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an apparatus for measuring the tire pressure of a tire provided on a moving vehicle, which apparatus has, without the disadvantages of the measurement of the tire pressure in a stationary state, nevertheless has a low degree of technical complexity and expenditure on assembly, a high degree of reliability, load bearing capacity and safety against destruction as well as good measuring accuracy so that it is suitable, in particular, for measuring the tire pressure in the context of a commercial vehicle fleet, such as for example in the field of trucks.